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#	Question	Answer
1	According to the text, biology may be presented in which forms?	As botany, zoology and microbiology, or as classical and modern biology.
2	Who is revered as the Father of Ecology in India?	Ramdeo Misra.
3	Can organisms produced by asexual reproduction also be considered a population?	Yes, for ecological studies they are generally considered a population.
4	In population studies, what do birth rates and death rates refer to?	Per capita births and deaths.
5	What does the shape of an age pyramid indicate?	Whether the population is growing, stable or declining.
6	Give an example of a very large population size mentioned in the text.	Chlamydomonas in a pond.
7	What is an example of relative density given in the text?	Number of fish caught per trap in a lake.
8	Population density fluctuates due to how many basic processes?	Four basic processes.
9	Define immigration.	Immigration is the number of individuals of the same species entering a habitat from elsewhere.
10	In which situation can immigration contribute significantly to population growth?	When a new habitat is being colonised.
11	What kind of growth pattern occurs when resources are unlimited?	Exponential or geometric growth.
12	What is the r value for the flour beetle?	0.12.
13	What does N0 represent in the exponential growth equation?	Population density at time zero.
14	Why can exponential growth not continue indefinitely in nature?	Because resources are limited.
15	What happens when population density reaches carrying capacity?	Growth becomes asymptotic.
16	Why do populations evolve different life history traits?	To maximise reproductive fitness in their habitat.
17	Which organisms produce a small number of large-sized offspring?	Birds and mammals.
18	What are interspecific interactions?	Interactions between populations of two different species.
19	In parasitism, which organisms benefit and suffer?	Parasite benefits and host suffers.
20	Why are herbivores considered predators in a broad ecological context?	Because they feed on plants.
21	Which organism was introduced in Australia to control prickly pear cactus?	A cactus-feeding moth.
22	What interaction symbols are used for parasitism?	+ –
23	What happened when starfish were removed from an enclosed intertidal area?	More than 10 species of invertebrates became extinct within a year.
24	Approximately what percentage of insects are phytophagous?	Nearly 25 per cent.
25	Why do cattle and goats avoid browsing on Calotropis?	Because it contains highly poisonous cardiac glycosides.
26	What is interference competition?	Competition where one species reduces the feeding efficiency of another even when resources are abundant.
27	How can species avoid competition through resource partitioning?	By choosing different feeding times or different foraging patterns.
28	Name some adaptations evolved by parasites.	Loss of unnecessary sense organs, adhesive organs or suckers, loss of digestive system, and high reproductive capacity.
29	What are ectoparasites?	Parasites that feed on the external surface of the host organism.
30	What are endoparasites?	Parasites that live inside the host body.
31	What is brood parasitism?	A form of parasitism where a bird lays eggs in the nest of another bird and lets the host incubate them.
32	Why do cattle egrets stay close to grazing cattle?	Cattle stir up insects that the egrets can catch easily.
33	How do fungi benefit plants in mycorrhizae?	By helping in absorption of essential nutrients from the soil.
34	What does co-evolution mean in plant-animal interactions?	Evolution of the flower and its pollinator species in close association with each other.
35	How does the fig wasp help the fig plant?	By pollinating the fig inflorescence while searching for egg-laying sites.
36	How does Ophrys attract its pollinator?	One petal resembles the female bee in size, colour and markings.
37	Why is population ecology considered important?	Because evolutionary changes through natural selection occur at the population level.
38	What type of growth occurs under unlimited resources?	Exponential growth.
39	What is the Competitive Exclusion Principle?	The superior competitor eliminates the inferior competitor.
40	What type of interaction exists between an orchid growing on a mango tree branch and the mango tree?	Commensalism.
41	Define parasitism.	An interaction in which one organism benefits while the other is harmed.
42	What limits logistic population growth?	Carrying capacity (K).